Memory card, and receptacle for same

ABSTRACT

A memory card is disclosed which has a card body ( 2 ) having a concavity ( 9 ) formed at the forward end thereof in the inserting direction and in which terminals ( 5 ) are disposed and projections ( 10 ) are formed between the terminals ( 5 ) to prevent the terminals ( 5 ) from being touched or accessed from outside. A receptacle for the memory card is also disclosed. The memory card has a simple structure designed to positively protect the terminals and easily let out dust or the like from inside, thereby permitting to assure a positive connection with the receptacle.

This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/088.590, filed Jun.2 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,939.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a memory card designed for reception ina memory card receptacle and into or from which information signal is tobe written or read, and the memory card receptacle.

2. Description of Related Art

A well-known memory card incorporating memory chips in which informationsignals are stored is provided with terminals which are to electricallybe connected with an external system. The memory card is supplied with avoltage through the terminals and also delivers and receives informationsignal to and from the internal memory chips through the terminals.

Since the terminals for connection of the memory card to an externalsystem are also electrically connected to the internal memory chips,they should be protected from being touched when the memory card isused. More particularly, if the terminals are directly touched, a staticelectricity will take place in them, which however is a rare case, andbe carried from the terminals to the memory chips which thus willpossibly be broken down. To avoid this, the terminals should beprotected against easy access to them from outside to prevent suchbreakdown due to a static electricity.

Also, the memory card of this type is featured by its transportability.So, it has been tried to design more compact memory cards for theconvenience of portability. Thus, along with the more compact design ofthe memory card itself, its terminals have been designed thinner andarranged at reduced intervals.

Such thin, closely disposed terminals for connection an external systemwill possibly be deformed and broken even if just lightly touched.

To prevent the terminals from being deformed or broken down, a memorycard of this type has been proposed in which such terminals are buriedinside in the memory card body and small holes communicating with theterminals are formed in the memory card body so that the terminals areexposed to outside only through the holes, or in which a concavity isformed in a forward end portion of the memory card body in the cardinserting direction and terminals are disposed in the bottom of theconcavity for protection of them.

However, the memory card in which the small holes are formed in the cardbody for the terminals to be exposed to outside is hard to disconnectfrom the receptacle if the holes are clogged with dust or the like. Whenthe memory card is inserted into the receptacle with the holes leftclogged with dust, no positive connection with the receptacle can beattained and also the terminals of the receptacle may possibly bedeformed as the case may be.

Further, the above memory card is apt to have a complicated structureand is manufactured with large costs. Therefore, the conventional memorycard is not suitable for mass production.

Also, in the memory card having formed in the body thereof the concavityin which the terminals are disposed, the protection of the terminalscannot be protected to a satisfactory extent if the concavity isimproperly shaped. If the concavity is not shaped for a satisfactoryprotection of the terminals, dust or the like is likely to heap or stayin the corners of the concavity and block the terminals of the memorycard from secure connection with those of the receptacle.

Further a memory card has been proposed which is cut at one of thecorners of a generally rectangular body thereof to prevent the memorycard from being inserted incorrectly (in a wrong direction or posture)into a memory card receptacle. In this case, however, the memory cardcannot, be designed to have a variety of shapes by chamfering orrounding, for example, the other three corners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has an object to overcome the above-mentioneddrawbacks of the prior art by providing a memory card having a simplestructure, adapted to positively protect terminals thereof and easilylet out dust or the like from inside to attain a positive connectionwith a memory card receptacle, and designable to have a variety ofcorner shapes, and the memory card receptacle.

The above object can be accomplished by providing a memory cardcomprising a body, a concavity formed in the card body which is open atthe top and forward end of the card body in the inserting direction ofthe latter, and terminals disposed in the concavity. The memory card hasalso a projection formed in at least a part of a space defined betweentwo successive ones of the terminals disposed in the concavity toprotect the terminals against access or touch from outside, and theinner wall of the concavity perpendicular to the inserting direction ofthe card body is inclined.

In this memory card, the projections are formed in the concavity todefine sockets in each of which a terminal is disposed, whereby theterminals thus disposed in the concavity can be protected against accessor touch from outside.

Since the concavity has-the inclined inner wall, dust or the like, ifany, can easily be let out from on the concavity wall when the memorycard is inserted into a memory card receptacle.

The above subject can also be accomplished by providing a memory cardcomprising a body, a concavity formed in the card body and open at thetop and forward end, in the inserting direction, of the card body, andterminals disposed in the concavity. The memory card has also a shuttermember which opens and closes the concavity, and the inner wall of theconcavity perpendicular to the inserting direction of the memory card isinclined.

When the memory card is not inserted into a memory card receptacle, theconcavity is closed by the shutter member so that the terminals disposedinside the concavity cannot be accessed or touched from outside.

When the memory card is inserted into a memory card receptacle, dust orthe like is removed to outside from the inclined wall of the concavity.

Also the above object can be accomplished by providing a memory cardreceptacle having a receiving concavity formed therein, a plurality ofterminals disposed in the receiving concavity, and a plurality ofprojections provided ahead of the plurality of terminals correspondinglyto the terminals of a memory card.

When the memory card is inserted into the receptacle, the projections goahead of the receptacle terminals and slide on the memory card terminalsto let out dust or the like from on the memory card receptacle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These objects and other objects, features and advantages of the presentintention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments of the present invention whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1A shows the construction of a first embodiment of the memory cardaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 1B shows the construction of a second embodiment of the memory cardof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the memory card in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the memory card in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the memory cardaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the memory cardaccording to the present invention, showing the essential portionthereof with a shutter member placed to close or cover the concavity;

FIG. 5B is a plan view of the memory card in FIG. 5A, showing theessential portion thereof with the shutter member placed to open theconcavity;

FIG. 6A is a plan view of a fifth embodiment of the memory cardaccording to the present invention, showing the essential portionthereof with a shutter member placed to close the concavity;

FIG. 6B is a plan view of the memory card in FIG. 6A, showing theessential portion thereof with the shutter member placed to open theconcavity;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of the memory cardreceptacle according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the memory card receptacle in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the receptacle in FIG. 7 in which thememory card is received;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the receptacle in FIG. 7 in which anothermemory card of the present invention is received;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the essential portion of another memorycard of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the memorycard of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line X₁-X₂ of the memorycard in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of the construction of thereceptacle of the present invention in which the memory card of thepresent invention is received;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line Y₁-Y₂ in FIG. 14,showing the example of the construction of the receptacle of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the memory card being correctly insertedin the receptacle;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line Y₃-Y₄ in FIG. 16,showing the memory card being correctly inserted in the receptacle;

FIG. 18 is also a sectional view taken along the line Y₃-Y₄ in FIG. 16,showing the memory card correctly inserted in the receptacle;

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the memory card being incorrectlyinserted into the receptacle;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the line Y₅-Y₆ in FIG. 19,showing the memory card being incorrectly inserted into the receptacle;

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the memorycard of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the memorycard of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the memory card, taken along the lineZ₁-Z₂ in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing an example of the construction of thereceptacle of the present invention in which the memory card of thepresent invention is inserted;

FIG. 25 is a sectional view of the receptacle, taken along the lineW₁-W₂ in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view showing the memory card being correctlyinserted in the receptacle;

FIG. 27 is also a sectional view showing the memory card being correctlyinserted in the receptacle;

FIG. 28 is a sectional view showing the memory card being incorrectlyinserted into the receptacle;

FIG. 29 is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the memorycard of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of thememory card of the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a view of the memory card from a point H in FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a view of the memory card from a point I in FIG. 30;

FIG. 33 is a sectional view of the memory card of the present inventioninserted in the receptacle of the present invention; and

FIG. 34 is a sectional view of the memory card of the present inventioninserted in the receptacle of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A memory card according to the present invention is generally indicatedwith a reference 1.

It is a storage medium which is inserted, for use, into a receptacle ofan external system such as a computer, audio equipment, etc. for read orwrite of information signal between the memory card and external systemthus connected to the memory card. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, thememory card 1 has a card body 2 incorporating a plurality of memorychips 3 such as flash memory, etc. to store information signal, and acontrolling integrated circuit 4 (will be referred to as “controllingIC” hereafter) to write or read information signal into or from thememory chips 3.

Further, the memory card 1 has terminals 5 for connection to an externalsystem as shown in FIG. 2. When the memory card 1 is inserted into amemory card receptacle, the terminals 4 are electrically connected tothose of the memory card receptacle to supply a voltage to thecontrolling IC 4 and transfer information signal and various controlsignals between the memory card 1 and the external system. The memorycard 1 adopts a serial interface and the terminals 5 provided count ninein number.

The card body 2 is a thin, flat, rectangular card made of a syntheticresin, for example. The memory card 1 of this embodiment adopts theserial interface and is designed to have nine terminals 5, and thus thecard body 2 itself is small. As shown in FIG. 3, the card body 2 has ashort side L₁ of which the length is smaller than a half of the lengthL₂ of the long side. For example, L₁ is 21.5 mm while L₂ is 50 mm, andthe thickness of the card body 2 is 2.8 mm.

The card body 2 has an inadvertent erasure preventive member 6 attachedto the rear end thereof in the inserting direction of the card body 2indicated with an arrow A in FIGS. 2 and 3. The inadvertenterasure-preventive member 6 is engaged on an inadvertenterasure-preventive switch (not illustrated) housed in the card body 2.Sliding the member 6 in a direction perpendicular to the insertingdirection of the card body 2 will turn on/off the inadvertenterasure-preventive switch. Also, the card body 2 has formed on a lateralside thereof parallel to the inserting direction of the card body 2 anarcuate locking cut 7 which prevents the memory card 1 from being freelydisengaged from the memory card receptacle once the memory card 1 isinserted in the receptacle. When the memory card 1 is inserted into thereceptacle, a mating locking projection (not illustrated) provided onthe receptacle is engaged in this locking cut 7 to prevent the memorycard 1 from being freely disengaged from the receptacle.

At one lateral end in the inserting direction, the card body 2 is cut(at 8) obliquely with respect top the inserting direction of the cardbody 2. This cut 8 is formed to prevent the memory card 1 from beingincorrectly inserted into the receptacle. Further, the card body 2 hasformed a concavity 9 formed at the forward end, in the insertingdirection, thereof.

The concavity 9 is formed open to the forward of the card body 2 andextends longitudinally from the forward end, in the inserting direction,of the card body 2. The concavity 9 is deep a predetermined step fromthe top surface of the card body 2, and thus it is defined by threewalls and a bottom 9 b. One 9 a of the walls of the concavity 9, innerand parallel to the forward open end, is inclined at a predeterminedangle with respect to the bottom 9 b.

Because of the forward open end and inclined inner wall 9 a of theconcavity 9 in the memory card 1, dust or the like in the concavity 9can be easily let out when the memory card 1 is inserted into thereceptacle.

In the concavity 9, there is disposed a plurality of terminals 5 forconnection to corresponding terminals of the receptacle when the cardbody 2 is inserted into the receptacle. The terminals 5 are formed bypunching a thin metal sheet or from a pattern of a printed wiring board.They are laid side by side on the bottom 9 b of the concavity 9 in theinserting direction of the card body 2, and exposed to outside.

Since the memory card 1 of the present invention adopts the serialinterface, the terminals 5 thus provided count nine in number. Namely,the nine terminals 5 disposed in the concavity 9 of the memory card 1include a digital signal input/output terminal, a sync signal inputterminal, a status signal input terminal, four voltage supply terminalsand two reserved terminals.

Further, there are formed between the terminals 5 inside the concavity 9projections 10 serving to prevent an access or touch to the terminals 5from outside. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the projections 10 extendbetween the open forward end and the inner wall 9 a of the concavity 9parallel to the forward end, and count two in number to trisect thespace in the concavity 9 in this case. Three terminals 5 are disposed inthree sockets, respectively, defined by the projections 10 thus formedinside the concavity 9.

The projections 10 provided in the concavity 9 of the memory card 1 willprevent the user from inadvertently touching the terminals 5 wheninserting the memory card 1 into the receptacle. The terminals 5 can bethus protected.

The central one of the terminals 5 disposed in the three sockets definedby the projections 10 in the concavity 9 should desirably be connectedto the ground potential.

Since the memory card 1 is connected at the central one of the terminals5 to the ground potential, even when the user's finger is put into theconcavity 9, it will touch the grounded one of the terminals 5 so that astatic electricity, if any, caused by touching the terminals 5 with thefinger will be connected to the earth and thus the memory chip 3 willnot be damaged by the static electricity.

As shown in FIG. 4, the memory card may have formed in the concavity 9 acorresponding number of the projections 10 to a desired number of theterminals 5, and have the terminals 5 disposed in the sockets,respectively, defined by the projections 10 in the concavity 9. Theprojections 10 thus formed for the terminals 5 will positively preventthe terminals 5 being accessed or touched from outside.

It should be noted that ten terminals 10 may be provided in the memorycard 1 as shown in FIG. 1B. Three of these ten terminals 5 may bereserved ones. In the memory card 1 with such ten reserved terminals 5,the three reserved terminals 5 can be used as signal input or outputterminals to permit a parallel interface using a total of four signalinput or output terminals including the aforementioned digital signalinput/output terminal.

The present invention has been described in the foregoing concerning anembodiment in which the projections 10 are formed in the concavity toprevent access or touch to the terminals 5. However, the memory card 1according to the present invention may comprise a shutter member 11which is moved to open or close the concavity 9. As shown in FIG. 5A,when the memory card 1 is not inserted in the receptacle, the shuttermember 11 closes the concavity 9 to prevent access to the terminals 5.In this embodiment, the card body 2 has formed therein, over an axialdistance substantially corresponding to the axial length of theconcavity 9 from the inner wall 9 a parallel to the forward end of theconcavity 9, an indentation in which the shutter member 11 is slidable.

The shutter member 11 is a rectangular plate made of a synthetic resin,for example, and slightly larger in area than the top opening of theconcavity 9, and it is installed at the forward end of the card body 2to be movable in the inserting direction. While the memory card 1 is notinserted in the receptacle, the shutter member 11 is pressed to theforward end of the concavity 9 to cover the top opening of the concavity9.

When the memory card 1 is inserted into the receptacle, it will abut atthe forward end thereof on projections of the receptacle as will befurther described later. As shown in FIG. 5B, as the memory card 1 isinserted, the shutter member 11 is pushed in by the projections againstthe force of a spring member 12 in the direction of arrow B, and movedinto the above-mentioned indentation so that the concavity 9 will beopen at the top thereof.

When the memory card 1 is not inserted into the receptacle, theconcavity 9 is covered by the shutter member 11, so that the terminals 5are prevented from being accessed or touched from outside and thusprotected.

In the memory card 1 according to this embodiment as well, the innerwall 9 a parallel to the forward open end of the concavity 9 is inclinedat a predetermined angle with respect to the bottom 9 b. Also theshutter member 11 should desirably have an inclined forward end face.

The memory card 1 has thus the inclined inner wall 9 a parallel to theforward open end of the concavity 9 and the inclined forward end face ofthe shutter member 11 so that when the memory card 1 is inserted intothe receptacle, dust or the like in the concavity 9 can easily be letout from on the inclined wall and end face.

Also in this memory card 1, the projections 10 may be formed inside theconcavity 9 to define sockets for the terminals 5 as shown in FIGS. 6Aand 6B. Thus, the projections 10 can positively protect the terminals 5by preventing touch to them even when the shutter member 11 isinadvertently opened with the memory card 1 not yet inserted into thereceptacle. FIG. 6A shows the top opening of the concavity 9 beingcovered or closed by the shutter member 11 while FIG. 6B shows theshutter member 11 moved away from on the concavity 9 and thus theconcavity 9 being open at the top thereof.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a memory card receptacle, generally indicated with areference 20, adapted to receive the memory card 1 having been describedin the foregoing. When the memory card 1 constructed as in the above isused, it is inserted in the receptacle 20 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 torecord or reproduce information signal into or from the memory card 1.

As shown, the memory card receptacle 20 has an opening 21 formed at thefront end thereof, through which the memory card 1 is inserted into thereceptacle 20. Also, the receptacle 20 has formed therein, in theinserting direction of the memory card 1 indicated with an arrow C inFIG. 7, a memory card receiving concavity 22 axially extending from theopening 21 to a depth in the receptacle 20 and in which the memory card1 is received. There are disposed inside this memory card receivingconcavity 22 tips of a plurality of terminals 23 electrically connectedto an external system as shown in FIG. 7.

The terminals tips 23 are formed by punching a thin metal sheet, forexample. The terminals 23 are supported with the bases thereof buried inthe body of the receptacle 20 as shown. Therefore, the terminals 23 alsowork as leaf springs which depress the terminals 5 of the memory card 1inserted in the receptacle 20. The terminals 23 have each a contactpoint 23 a formed near the free ends thereof inside the receivingconcavity 22 and which are put into contact with the terminals 5 of thememory card 1.

The terminals 23 of the receptacle 20 are equal in number to theterminals 5 of the memory card 1. In this embodiment off the receptacle20, nine terminals 23 for the nine terminals 5 of the memory card 1 areprovided in the receiving concavity 22.

Further, there are provided ahead of the terminals 23 disposed in thereceiving concavity 22, that is to say, in positions corresponding tothe forward end of the memory card 1 when inserted in the receptacle 20,projections 24 which will slide on the terminals 5 of the memory card 1when the latter is inserted into the receptacle 20. The projections 24are equal in number to the terminals 5 of the memory card 1 similarly tothe terminals 23 of the receptacle 20. The projections 24 are providedahead of the terminals 23. In this embodiment of the receptacle 20, nineprojections 24 are thus provided for the nine terminals 5. When thememory card 1 is inserted into the receptacle 20, the projections 24slide on the terminals 5 of the memory card 1 before they get intocontact with the terminals 23 as shown in FIG. 9. The projections 24will let out dust or the like from inside the concavity 9 of the memorycard 1 over the inclined wall 9 a of the concavity 9 of the memory card1.

When the memory card 1 is inserted into the memory card receptacle 20,the projections 24 move ahead of the terminals 23 and slide on theterminals 5 of the memory card 1. After the projections 24 let out dustor the like from on the terminals 5, the terminals 23 get into contactwith the terminals 5 of the memory card 1. Thus, the terminals 23 and 5are electrically connected to one another in a positive manner.

In the receptacle 20, the plurality of projections 24 is provided aheadof the terminals 23 correspondingly to the terminals 5, respectively, ofthe memory card 1 in such a manner that the projections 24 can be wellfitted into the sockets defined by the projections 10 inside theconcavity 9 of the memory card 1 for the respective terminals 5. Thus,the receptacle 20 can suitably receive the memory card 1 of such astructure as well as the memory card 1 having the concavity 9 of whichthe space is similarly trisected by the projections 10.

Further, the receptacle 20 can well receive the memory card 1 having theconcavity 9 of which the top opening can be covered by the shuttermember 11 for protection of the terminals 5. In this example, when thememory card 1 having the shutter member 11 is inserted into thereceptacle 20, the projections 24 abut at the front end faces thereof onthe forward end of the shutter member 11 which will thus be moved openas the memory card 1 is further inserted into the receptacle 20, as seenfrom FIG. 10.

Also it is of course that the receptacle 20 can receive a memory cardhaving only the concavity 9 formed at the forward end, in the insertingdirection, of the card body 2, and the terminals 5 disposed in theconcavity 9, as shown in FIG. 11, with the projections 10 and shuttermember 11 not provided.

The memory card receptacle 20 is versatile as having been described inthe above, namely, it can be universally applied without beingrestricted by the shape of the memory card 1.

It should now be noted that the memory card according to the presentinvention may also be constructed as will be discussed below:

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an example of the memory card, and FIG. 13 isa sectional view taken along the line X₁-X₂ of the memory card in FIG.12.

The memory card is generally indicated with a reference 100. It has agenerally rectangular flat shape having four corners 101 a, 101 b, 1010c and 102. Of these four corners, one (101 a) of the corners at theforward end, in the inserting direction, of the memory card 100indicated with the arrow D, and both the corners 101 b and 101 c at therear end, in the inserting direction of, the memory card 100 indicatedwith the arrow D, are chamfered much more than the remaining corner, orthe latter is not chamfered. Namely, the memory card 100 is so shapedthat it can be judged based on the position of the corner 102 whetherthe memory card 100 being inserted into the receptacle is positionedcorrectly or incorrectly, whereby the memory card 100 can be preventedfrom incorrectly being inserted into the receptacle.

As mentioned above, the remaining corner 102 at the forward end, in theinserting direction, of the memory card 100 indicated with the arrow Dis not chamfered while the other three corners 101 a, 101 b and 101 care chamfered to have an arcuate form, for example. Furthermore, thecorner 101 a is rounded much more than the other two corners 101 b and101 c as shown in FIG. 12.

When used for information recording or reproduction, the memory card 100is inserted into a receptacle 103 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14is a plan view of an example of the receptacle 103, and FIG. 15 is asectional view taken along the line Y₁-Y₂ of the receptacle 103 in FIG.14. Although FIG. 14 is a plan view, hatching is made somewhere thereinfor better understanding of the relation between the members of thereceptacle 103.

The receptacle 103 has formed at the forward- end thereof an opening 104through which the memory card 100 is to be inserted, formed therein areceiving concavity 105 extending from the opening 104 along theinserting direction of the memory card 100 indicated with an arrow E,and provided at the innermost portion of the opening 104 an incorrectinsertion-preventive member 106 extending in the inserting direction ofthe memory card 100 indicated with the arrow E.

The incorrect insertion-preventive member 106 has at the opening 104 ofthe receptacle 103 a front end face 107 extending generallyperpendicular to the inserting direction of the memory card 100, and aprojection 108 formed at one of the lateral ends of the front end face107. The projection 108 has an oblique surface 109 which becomes thinnerand narrower as it goes from the front end face 107 toward the opening104. The oblique surface 109 detects the corner 102 of the memory card100.

Further the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106 is pivoted andforced clockwise in the plane of FIG. 15 under the action of a coilspring 110. When the receptacle 103 is not used, the member 106 closesthe opening 104 to block dust or the like from coming into thereceptacle 103.

FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 show the memory card 100 correctly inserted in thereceptacle 103. As the memory card 100 is inserted from the opening 104in the direction of arrow E, it will abut at the corner 102 thereof onthe projection 108 formed on the incorrect insertion-preventive member106 as shown in FIG. 16. Then the upper end of the corner 102 slides onthe oblique surface 109 of the projection 108 as shown in FIG. 17 andurges up the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106. Eventually thecorner 102 will allow the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106 toescape as shown in FIG. 18 and thus the memory card 100 is allowed to gointo place in the receptacle 103.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show the memory card 100 being inserted in a wrongdirection into the receptacle 103. As the memory card 100 is inserted inthe direction of arrow E, the rounded corner 101 a will not abut on theprojection 108 of the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106 but atthe forward end, in the inserting direction, thereof on the front endface 107 of the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106. Since thefront end face 107 of the member 106 is formed generally perpendicularto the inserting direction of the memory card 100 indicated with thearrow E, the forward end of the memory card 100 will be caught by theprojection 108 and thus cannot urge up the incorrectinsertion-preventive member 106. Therefore, if the memory card 100 isincorrectly inserted into the receptacle 103, the corner 101 a will notallow the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106 to escape, so thatthe memory card 100 cannot be inserted deep into place in the receptacle103.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show an example in which the memory card 100 is insertedupside down in the receptacle 103. Also in this case, the corners 101 band 101 c will not allow the incorrect insertion-preventive member 106to escape, so that the memory card 100 cannot be inserted deep intoplace in the receptacle 103. Therefore, it is only when the memory card100 is inserted correctly that the memory card 100 can be inserted deepinto place in the receptacle 103. Thus, the memory card 100 can beprevented from being incorrectly inserted into the receptacle 103.

For the purpose of preventing an incorrect insertion of the memory card100, the corners 101 a, 101 b and 101 c have only to be formed not toabut on the projection 108 of the incorrect insertion-preventive member106, and thus may be shaped to have any flat form. For example, thecorners may be chamfered in different sizes as well as in various shapessuch as arcuate, linear or the like as shown in FIG. 21. Such variationsin chamfered size and shape of the corners will also give a variation tothe memory card design.

Also it should be noted that the memory card according to the presentinvention may be constructed as will be discussed below:

FIG. 22 shows, in the form of a plan view, an example of the memorycard, and FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along the line Z₁-Z₂ of thememory card shown in FIG. 22.

This memory card 120 is generally rectangular in shape, and cut at 121at the bottom edge of the forward end thereof in the inserting directionindicated with an arrow F as will be seen from FIG. 23. The cut 121extends over the entire forward-end short side of the memory card 120,and provides an oblique flat end face.

For preventing incorrect insertion of the memory card 120, it is judgedbased on the position of this cut 121 whether the memory card 120 isinserted correctly or incorrectly, as will be discussed below.

For information recording or reproduction, the memory card 120 isinserted into place in a receptacle 122 as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.FIG. 24 is a plan view of an example of the construction of thereceptacle 122, and FIG. 25 is a sectional view taken along the lineW₁-W₂ of the receptacle 122 shown in FIG. 24. The receptacle 122 hasformed at the forward end thereof an opening 123 through which thememory card 120 is to be inserted, formed therein a receiving concavity124 extending from the opening 123 in the inserting direction of thememory card 120 indicated with an arrow G, and provided at the innermostportion of the opening 123 an incorrect insertion-preventive member 125extending in the inserting direction of the memory card 120 indicatedwith the arrow G.

As shown in FIG. 25, the incorrect insertion-preventive member 125 has ablocking plate 127 having a first face 126 generally perpendicular tothe inserting direction of the memory card 120 indicated with the arrowG, and a projection 129 provided at the upper end of the blocking plate127 on the side of the opening 123 and which has a second face 128generally parallel to the inserting direction of the memory card 120.

Further the incorrect insertion-prevention to member 125 is pivoted andforced clockwise in the plane of FIG. 25 under the action of a coilspring 130. When the receptacle 122 is not used, the member 125 closesthe opening 123 to block dust or the like from coming into thereceptacle 122.

As the memory card 120 is inserted into the receptacle 122, theincorrect insertion-preventive member 125 is rotated about 90 deg.counterclockwise (in the plane of Figure) against the action of the coilspring 130 and the first face 126 will be generally parallel to theinserting direction of the memory card 120.

When the memory card 120 is correctly inserted into the receptacle 122,that is to say, when the cut 121 formed at the bottom edge of theforward end of the memory card 120 is positioned down, the forward endof the memory card 120 will slide at the oblique face of the cut 121onto the projection 129 to depress the incorrect insertion-preventivemember 125, as shown in FIG. 26. Thus, the cut 121 will allow theincorrect insertion-preventive member 106 to escape as shown in FIG. 27and thus the memory card 120 is allowed to go deep into place in thereceptacle 122.

When the memory card 120 is inserted in a wrong direction into thereceptacle 122, that is, when the cut 121 is not positioned down asshown i n FIG. 28, the memory card 120 will abut at the forward endthereof onto the second face 128 of the projection 129. Since the secondface 128 is generally perpendicular to the inserting direction of thememory card 120 indicated with the arrow G, the forward end of thememory card 120 is caught by the projection 129 so that it cannotdepress the incorrect insertion-preventive member 125. Therefore, whenthe memory card 120 is inserted in a wrong direction, the incorrectinsertion-preventive member 125 cannot be allowed to escape to insertthe memory card 120 deep into place in the receptacle 122.

FIG. 28 shows the memory card 120 being inserted upside down into thereceptacle 122. Also when the memory card 120 is inserted in a reversedirection, the incorrect insertion-preventive member 125 cannot beallowed to escape to insert the memory card 120 deep into place in thereceptacle 122. Therefore it is only when the memory card 120 isinserted correctly that it can be inserted deep into place in thereceptacle 122. Thus, it is possible to prevent incorrect insertion ofthe memory card 120.

Since it is judged based on the shape in the direction of the width ofthe memory card 120 whether the memory card 120 is inserted correctly orincorrectly, the cut 121 has only to be formed to a size over which theprojection 129 can be slid to depress the incorrect insertion-preventivemember 125. Therefore, for the purpose of preventing an incorrectinsertion of the memory card 120, the corners thereof has only to beshaped to have any flat form. For example, the memory card 120 may bechamfered at the corners thereof in different sizes as well as invarious shapes such as arcuate, linear or the like, as shown in FIG. 29.Such variations in chamfered size and shape of the corners will alsogive a variation to the memory card design.

In addition to the above-mentioned structure designed for insertion intothe receptacle, the memory card according to the present invention maybe designed for fitting onto the top of the receptacle

FIG. 30 shows an example of the memory card of such design. In thiscase, the memory card is generally indicated with a reference 140. FIG.31 is a view of the memory card 140 from a direction H in FIG. 30, andFIG. 32 is a view of the memory card 140 from a direction I in FIG. 30.The memory card 140 has a generally rectangular flat shape. Also thememory card 140 has recesses 143 a and 143 b formed at end portions,respectively, of a first longitudinal side 141 thereof and also recesses143 c and 143 d formed at end portions, respectively, of a secondlongitudinal side 142 parallel to the first longitudinal side, as shownin FIG. 31.

The memory card 140 can be fitted into a receptacle 144 using therecesses 143 a to 143 d thereof as will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 33, the receptacle 104 has formed on the top thereof aconcavity 145, for example, in which the memory card 140 is to befitted. The concavity 145 is open at the top thereof, and projections146 are formed on side walls, respectively, of the concavity 145. Forexample, the memory card 140 can be fitted to the receptacle 144 withthe projections 146 of the receptacle 144 engaged in the recesses 143(143 a to 143 d) of the memory card 140, as shown in FIG. 34.

The memory card 140 can be directly set in a recording/reproducingapparatus. Also, the memory card 140 may be fitted in an adapter havinga shape of a flexible disk, PC card or the like, for example, and thenthe adapter in which the memory card 140 is fitted be set in therecording/reproducing apparatus.

In this case, since the memory card is fitted in a receptacle and thenset in the recording/reproducing apparatus, the top cover of thereceptacle is unnecessary and the receptacle can be designed thinnerthan a one which is to receive the memory card therein so that thereceptacle can be designed more compact. Also, the above-mentionedadapter destined to have the memory card fitted therein for setting intoa recording/reproducing apparatus can be designed to have a reducedthickness.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system having a memory card and a memory cardreceptacle for writing or reading information signals to/from saidmemory card; said memory card comprising: a card body incorporating atleast one memory chip, the card body having a top, a forward and arearward end; the top of the card body having a concavity open at theforward end; and a plurality of terminals disposed side by side in theconcavity in the inserting direction of the card body; and a projectionformed in at least a part of a space between two successive terminalsdisposed in the concavity to protect the terminals from undesiredoutside contact; the concavity having an inner wall inclined to theinserting direction of the card body; said memory card receptaclecomprising: a body; a receiving concavity open at an end of the body ofsaid memory card receptacle and in which said memory card is introduced;a plurality of terminals to be connected to said plurality of terminalsof said memory card respectively; and a plurality of projections;wherein said plurality of projections are slidable on said plurality ofterminals of said memory card respectively before said plurality ofterminals of said memory card receptacle are connected to said pluralityof terminals of said memory card.
 2. A memory card receptaclecomprising: a body; a receiving concavity open at an end of the body ofsaid memory card receptacle and in which a memory card is introduced,said memory card having a memory card body, a concavity formed in thecard body having an inclined wall, and electrical contacts disposed inthe concavity; a plurality of terminals to be connected to the contactsof the memory card respectively, and the tips of said plurality ofcontacts being disposed inside said receiving concavity; and a pluralityof projections provided ahead of the plurality of terminals of saidmemory card receptacle and formed so as to slide on the contacts of thememory card respectively before said plurality of terminals of saidmemory card receptacle are connected to said contacts of said memorycard so that the projections remove foreign materials from inside theconcavity of the memory card over the inclined wall of the concavity ofthe memory card.
 3. The memory card receptacle as set forth in claim 2,wherein only one of said terminals of said memory card receptacle isused for transmitting data between said memory card receptacle and saidmemory card.
 4. The receptacle as set forth in claim 2, wherein saidmemory card has a concavity open at an end of said memory card and aninclined inner wall of said concavity substantially perpendicular to thedirection in which said memory card is introdued into said receptacle,said contacts of said memory card being disposed inside said memory cardconcavity, and said plurality of projections contacting said inclinedinner wall after sliding on said contacts of said memory card.